President Bola Tinubu welcomed the judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria affirming the spirit, intent and purpose of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the statutory rights of all the 774 local governments’ councils.
The president, in a release issued on Thursday by his Media Adviser, Ajuri Ngelale, stated that a fundamental challenge to the nation’s advancement over the years has been ineffective local government administration, as governance at the critical cellular level of socio-political configuration is nearly absent.
President Tinibu emphasized that the onus is now on local council leaders to ensure that the broad spectrum of Nigerians living at that level are satisfied that they are benefitting from people-oriented service delivery.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda is about the people of this country, at all levels, irrespective of faith, tribe, gender, political affiliation, or any other artificial line they say exists between us. This country belongs to all of us. By virtue of this judgment, our people – especially the poor – will be able to hold their local leaders to account for their actions and inactions. What is sent to local government accounts will be known, and services must now be provided without excuses.
“My administration instituted this suit because of our unwavering belief that our people must have relief and today’s judgment will ensure that it will be only those local officials elected by the people that will control the resources of the people. This judgment stands as a resounding affirmation that we can use legitimate means of redress to restructure our country and restructure our economy to make Nigeria a better place to live in and a fairer society for all of our people,” the president said.
President Tinubu noted that the provision of some essential amenities and public goods, such as the construction and maintenance of certain roads, streets, street lighting, drains, parks, gardens, open spaces, and other residual responsibilities, including community security, has tottered owing to the emasculation of local governments.
He affirmed that the decision of the Supreme Court to uphold the constitutional rights and ideals of local governments as regards financial autonomy, and other salient principles, is of historic significance and further reinforces the effort to enhance Nigeria’s true federal fabric for the development of the entire nation.
The president commended the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), for his diligence and patriotic effort on this important assignment.
President Tinubu stated that his administration remains committed to protecting the principles of the charter governing citizens, institutions of government, arms and tiers of government in furtherance of building an efficient and performance-driven governance system that works for every Nigerian.
Also reacting to this development, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar stated that he welcome the Supreme Court’s judgment affirming fiscal autonomy for local government councils across Nigeria.
In a statement released on Thursday via X, Atiku described the ruling as “a win for the people of Nigeria” and a step in the right direction.
The Supreme Court’s decision overturns the previous practice of consolidating local council revenues into state government accounts.
Atiku criticised the earlier arrangement, stating that it was borne out of politics of hasty compromise.
Expressing his support for the ruling, Atiku said, “I align with the decision of the Supreme Court that the structure of the Nigerian government is portioned in three layers, and of these, the local governments should be centres of development.”
The former Vice President went further, advocating for an expansion of fiscal autonomy beyond Federation Account allocations.
“I also share the belief that fiscal autonomy to the local governments should not be limited to revenues from the Federation Accounts, but indeed, should apply to Internally Generated Revenue from the respective local government authorities,” he stated.
Atiku highlighted concerns about state governments, particularly in the urban areas, interfering with local councils’ revenue generation.
He wrote, “Many of our states, especially those in the ultra-urban areas with high-density economic activities, have become notorious in muscling local councils from generating revenue on items that border on motor parks, outdoor advertising, rents and many more.”
Atiku further praised the Supreme Court’s role, saying, “The verdict of the court is in tandem with the core functions of the Supreme Court as an arbitration court between and among governments.”
On Thursday, the Supreme Court declared that it is unconstitutional for state governors to hold funds allocated for local government administrations.
The seven-man panel, in the judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, declared that the 774 local government councils in the country should manage their funds themselves.
The apex court held that the power of the government is portioned into three arms of government, the federal, the state and the local government.
The court further declared that a state government has no power to appoint a caretaker committee and a local government council is only recognisable with a democratically elected government.
Oyebanji Akin, on his X, said, “I hope the implementation won’t take long to be effective and that those in charge ensure that funds allocated to local governments are delivered on time. Our main problem is the lack of accountability and not following up or keeping the country informed. Congratulating the president now might be premature; let his administration continue to grow in the right manner, and the country will praise him without needing to be asked.”
Sgt.Segz@segess on his X said: “Kudos Mr President for this move, but there are still loopholes that must be effectively tackled.
With this move, it is clear that a lot of the problems that this administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR had been having has been mostly sabotage. Now, the Local Government have their freedom from the dominance of the Governors.
Mr President sir, how do you want to manage these funds in the hands of the local government chairmen? We run the risk of the local government chairmen becoming Lords again and creating bottlenecks for the people benefiting at the grassroots level.
There must be a kind of checks and balances that must be put in place to forestall wasteful spending even at this level of government so we don’t return to the status quo.
At this time, all citizens especially in the rural areas must stand firm and demand their rights from their elected chairmen.
All non-performing chairmen MUST be exposed and removed according to the provisions of the law.
This news comes as a positive step in the right direction but extreme caution must be taken to prevent being taken off tangent by some unscrupulous beings.
